Say OK
by Longing for Oblivion
Summary: ONESHOT! After being in love with Connor for years Natalie struggles more and more with the fact that he doesn't seem to feel the same. When Connor comes by to check on her and asks what's bothering her, will she take the risk of rejection and tell him?


**Discs.: I don't own the show nor its characters!**

**A/N: My very first Medical Investigation fanfic! It was inspired by Vanessa Hudgens' song "Say OK"**

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Say OK

_You are fine, you are sweet _

_but I'm still a bit naive with my heart_

_when you're close I don't breathe _

_I can't find the the words to speak_

_I feel sparks_

Natalie sighed exhausted as she entered her house in the late evening. For a moment she was tempted to go to bed right away, but then she realized that she should eat something before getting some sleep.

After all, she had barely eaten anything during the passed eight days, being too busy with work.

Probably this won't bother her all that much if Stephen hadn't commented on it during the flight back from Atlanta, but he had - in fact he had told her he was quite worried about her because she was barely eating or sleeping.

She sighed once more and went to the kitchen deciding to simply order something from her favorite Chinese restaurant.

After she had ordered her favorite dish Natalie thought for quite a while about what she should do 'til the food arrived.

It didn't take long before her thoughts drifted off to Stephen again. In fact she could barely think about anything else but him. Whenever he was around her it became almost an impossibility for Natalie to focus on her tasks. During almost every meeting she got lost in her daydreams about him and there was simply nothing she could do about it.

Of course she could never tell him about her feelings, after all, he was her boss and furthermore she was obviously just a good friend to him.

Natalie sighed again, letting her eyes wander around in the living-room and after a moment they stopped on the piano, which was standing a few feet away.

Ever since her mom had died she barely played and sometimes she wondered why she hadn't sold it already, but then again there were times when she still felt the urge to play - just like today. Playing piano had always helped her to get her head free and right now she couldn't even think straight.

As she started playing tears started forming in her eyes when she realized how doomed she was.

Even if Stephen finally figured out how she felt about him and even if he felt the same way - they could never be together because he was her boss...

But she fought the tears successfully back, not willing to let any of them fall, after all, it was probably better if things remained the same between them considering how much their friendship meant to her.

Thinking more carefully about it Natalie came to the conclusion that - considering that her feelings were probably not mutual - she won't be able to deal with losing their friendship.

Furthermore she knew from experience that romantic relationships didn't last that long, at least hers - and she she only wanted to be with Stephen if it lasted forever. It would kill her if they gave it a try and broke up and therefore she would never tell him about the fact that she had fallen for him.

Not much later she was interrupted in her thoughts when the door-bell started ringing. After a moment of thinking Natalie got up and went to open, grabbing on her way her wallet.

When she opened the door she couldn't help but stare at the person standing in front of her.

"Hey Nat..."

"Stephen?" She said almost inaudible,

"What...What are you doing here?"

"Can I come in?" Her boss asked instead of answering her question, his icy-blue eyes filled with amusement.

Only then she realized that she was still staring at him and hurried to say :

"Sure..."

Natalie stepped aside, letting him into her house.

"Oh, by the way, I think that's yours..." Stephen lifted his right hand.

When he noticed the questioning expression on her face he added,

"Well, when I got here the guy from the restaurant was about to ring the door-bell...I decided to get for ya..." He shrugged.

After a moment she nodded then she stated :

"Thanks...So, why are you here?" They locked eyes for a while.

"I was worried about you and wanted to make sure that you're okay." Stephen replied without hesitation.

"There's no need to be worried about me."

"Come on, Nat...I know you good enough to know it when something bothers you." He looked her straight into her eyes,

"And I know for a matter of fact that you only play piano when something is wrong."

Natalie blushed.

"You heard me play?"

Stephen smiled.

"Yeah...And to be honest you should play by far more - you're very good at it..."

"You think so?"

He just nodded then Stephen became serious again and asked :

"So, what's bothering you, Natalie?"

They sat down on the couch and Natalie finally started eating while she was wondering whether she should tell him the truth or not.

Even after she was finished eating Natalie remained silent and refused to look at Stephen. A moment later he lifted his left hand to her face, making her look at him.

"You know that you can trust me, right?" When he saw her nod Stephen went on,

"So, why don't you just tell me?

She let out a heavy sigh.

"Unfortunately it's not that easy, Stephen..."

"Why?" He started caressing softly her cheek.

"I just can't..." Natalie closed her eyes, enjoying his tender touch.

"Please, Nat...Maybe I can help you..."

As she heard that Natalie tensed up and backed away.

"You can't..." Her eyes welled up with tears again.

"Listen Natalie, you know that I care a lot about you, don't you? And that's why it's tearing me apart to see you in so much distress. You work too much and neither eat nor sleep enough." Stephen gave her a worried glance,

"Please, tell me..."

Natalie swallowed hard, realizing that he won't let the topic slide and if she lied he would see right through it.

"It's you..."

For a moment he just stared at her then he asked quietly :

"What do you mean?"

She took a deep breath and replied :

"I don't wanna lose you..."

A small smile appeared on Stephen's face.

"You will never lose me...You mean way too much to as that I would ever let that happen." He pulled her into a tight embrace, after a few seconds he gave her a soft kiss onto her forehead.

Natalie closed her eyes and rested her head against his shoulder. Only a moment later she admitted quietly :

"I love you." She put some space between them and looked him right into the eyes.

Stephen's smile widened the he leaned in and kissed her.

"I love you, too - loved you ever since I met you..."

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**A/N: I know it's none of my better stories and the end is damn cheesy and pathetic, but please take nonetheless the time to review!**


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